grow up

British  

verb

1. to reach maturity; become adult

2. to come into existence; develop

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grow up Idioms  

1. Become an adult, as in Sam wants to be a policeman when he grows up . [First half of 1500s]

2. Come into existence, arise, as in Similar social problems grew up in all the big cities . [Late 1500s]

3. Become mature or sensible, as in It's time you grew up and faced the facts . This usage may also be in the form of an imperative (as in Don't bite your nails—grow up! ) [Mid-1900s]

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Example Sentences

Thomas Harris grew up in the South as a bookish outcast, reading the works of Ernest Hemingway and Jonathan Swift.

From Los Angeles Times

I’m also so aware of how tricky it can be—I think it’s very different growing up on a Harry Potter set in the UK.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Sure, but Traveler didn’t grow up knowing her. She was already”—I frowned—“like she is, I guess, when he met her.”

From Literature

Vicioso grew up in a Caribbean household, where flowers and offerings were part of daily life.

From Los Angeles Times

In a 2023 Vogue interview about the project, the actress revealed that she had always had a fascination with Cleopatra, having heard so many stories about her as a child growing up in Israel.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• advance
• establish
• evolve
• expand
• flourish
• grow
• progress
• promote